Graham Nash, the newest George Eastman Honorary Scholar, offers his official snapshot of the history of photography when he speaks to a sold-out Dryden Theatre on Saturday afternoon. But he provided a preview of his talk Friday for a handful of media types and photo scholars while sitting amid the exhibition now at the George Eastman House, “Taking Aim: Unforgettable Rock ‘n’ Roll Photographs Selected By Graham Nash.”

Nash, an avid photographer for most of his life, and whose Nash Editions studio produces state-of-the-art digital imagery, called the creation process of music and photos “the same energy.” He recalled how Stephen Stills and David Crosby came over to Joni Mitchell’s house one day for dinner – Nash was dating Mitchell at the time. Everyone’s bands were breaking up, and Stills and Crosby had just written a new song, “You Don’t Have to Cry.” They sung it in two-part harmony a couple of times, then Nash jumped in for the three-part harmony. Crosby, Stills & Nash was born right there.

“The sound Crosby, Stills & Nash is famous for happened in 40 seconds,” Nash says of one of two groups for which he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame; the other is The Hollies.

That spark is the same for photography, he says. The first time Nash witnessed the photographic process was when he was 9 or 10 years old. To him, it was “a magic trick.” He recalls his father in a darkroom, dipping paper into a tray of chemicals. “Just be patient,” his father said. Then, 20 or 30 seconds later, Nash recalled, “this giraffe, an image I’d seen my father take that morning, faded into view.”

“I’ve always wanted to get to those moments that touch that flame,” he said.

Nash pointed out two photos in particular that do that for him. One is a shot of Bob Dylan and Joan Baez together onstage, in the 1960s, dramatically lit by crossing spotlights. “This talks about their image better than any books you can read,” Nash said. The second photo isn’t even a part of the collection. It’s a shot in another part of the museum, showing Buddy Holly sitting on his tour bus, staring into space, when he was in Rochester for a 1958 show at the Auditorium Theatre. “He’s zoned, gone,” Nash said. “I don’t know where he is, but he’s not on that bus.”

With such images, the Eastman House, Nash said, is “virtually storing the memories of our nation, along with the Smithsonian Institution in Washington.”

Previous Eastman School Honorary Scholars are Dennis Hopper and Jeff Bridges. As the curator who helped assemble the collection – filled with photos of B.B. King, Mick Jagger, a Hopper photo of Ike and Tina Turner, a moody Mitchell photo shot by Nash and Marianne Faithful taking a shower – Nash called the exhibition and accompanying book a selfish act.

“I love photography more than I love music,” he said. “I did this for me. I didn’t do it for you.”

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Jeff Spevak has shaken the hand of Johnny Cash. He has done a shot of whiskey with Bo Diddley. He sang with Tina Turner for 12 seconds. His Top 10 albums of all time include 17 by Bob Dylan. He likes dogs, the Cleveland Indians and wine. His favorite books are Theodore Dreiser’s An American Tragedy, Ernest Hemingway’s The Sun Also Rises and Hunter S. Thompson’s Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas. He likes to eat Chilean sea bass.

Catherine Roberts: Lead Local Editor/Life, is the mother of two teenage boys. She's so used to being overbooked that when there's a spare moment, she feels the needs to know what's going on around town to fill the gap. Favorite things in Rochester include the museums, Red Wings games and concerts. But most of the time, you'll find her and her husband, Chad (the Democrat and Chronicle's overnight editor), at a bowling alley, the sidelines of a ball field or walking a dog in their Irondequoit neighborhood or Durand-Eastman Park. If you have any ideas, please email at cathyr@DemocratandChronicle.com

Diana Louise Carter was born at Rochester General Hospital the same year it opened and reared in Bristol, Ontario County. After college and grad school, her first reporting job was on a small newspaper in Western Massachusetts. She returned to Rochester in late 1987 to work for the Democrat and Chronicle. Carter covers agriculture and banking. She lives in the Upper Monroe neighborhood of Rochester with her husband and three children.

Anna Reguero, a former Democrat and Chronicle music critic, a clarinetist and a graduate of Eastman School of Music, is a doctoral student in musicology at State University of New York at Stony Brook.